CaribZone

Regional Prime Minister, Andrew Holness, says that Jamaica and the United States (US) will be strengthening cooperation on security matters. He said that the main focus will be on bolstering Jamaica’s capacity to counter transnational organized crime, secure its borders and ports, and interrupt the flow of illicit weapons into the country. “I cannot overstate the urgency with which we need to address these security matters… and I have also emphasized their importance in my discussions with [US] Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, today,” he said. The Prime Minister was addressing a joint press conference held at the Office of the Prime Minister last Wednesday, January 22, following bilateral discussions with Secretary Pompeo, who was on a two-day working visit to the island. The Prime Minister, who noted that the talks went well, shared that he and Secretary Pompeo engaged in discussions on critical issues of mutual interest to both countries. Secretary Pompeo’...

By Aubrey Campbell NEW YORK, NY. January 27, 2020 – Greetings all massive and crew! By the time you get to read this missive, the curtain would have come down on the Grammy Awards, offering what should amount to a ringing endorsement of the work done by the purveyors of our popular culture! But, alas. All that glitter and glamour can no longer be taken at face value, if you believe any of the rancor which greeted this year’s ceremony, thanks in large measure to a larger than life Deborah Dugan, the embattled CEO, who decided that she has seen and endured enough of the bullshit that passes for fair play. So now we know that what we have been hearing was no false alarm, just that it could not be substantiated beyond a shadow of a doubt. Well now we know, and it’s unfortunate. We will just have to grin and bear it. Whoever wins the award, so be it with hearty congratulations! What is even more interesting is that just when the reggae industry seems to be getting...

By Aubrey Campbell THE ART OF LOVE . Artist Patrick Wah created quite a scene, going down on one knee to paint on the jeans of this art lover, at the closing reception for the Caribbean Arts Festival, at the Hollis Library, Queens, last Thursday. Of course, the scene went viral in an instant. -           Aubrey Campbell photo NEW YORK, NY. January 20, 2020 -- The Caribbean Arts Festival ended the same way it started, in a burst of colors, amidst an enthusiastic audience. Some thirty (30) artists, their families, and close associates attended the closing reception of the festival at the Hollis Branch of the Queens Public Library Service, last Thursday, exactly eight (8) weeks after the exhibition opened at the Main Library, downtown Jamaica, Queens. The festival with its sub-theme – Migration of Colors, featured works on a variety of media by artists from Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. “Painting is my l...